This summer, Fresno’s temperature has gone up to as high as 105 degrees in July and 101 degrees in the beginning of August. Triple-digit temperatures disrupt the outdoor exercise routines of many people in town, including both adults and youth. Many prefer to stay indoors to avoid the scorching heat and dehydration, and this can result in decreased physical activity.
One would think that with Fresno’s heat, public pools would be a priority in our city. But this June, three public pools in Fresno, including the Frank H. Ball center, were chosen to be closed down due to budget cuts in the city. Luckily, Jim Boren from the Fresno Bee brought attention to it and as a result, was able to reopen the pools for the duration of the rest of the summer.
Choua Yang, 18 years old, talks about how she gets her daily exercise while avoiding the heat. She describes an instance when the hot weather made her “feel dizzy”, and in turn, she had to go home in order to avoid getting a heat stroke or blacking out. Choua also shares her feelings about the pools closing down. In particular, she mentions that she swam at another public pool, Airways, when she was little, and that she doesn’t use it anymore. She says that people without air conditioning at home will be mad if the pools close down. Her accounts bring awareness of the fact that Fresno needs more cooling centers and pools in the summer to ensure that youth get enough exercise to be healthy.
Audio slide slide show produced by Denise Yang
In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.
Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.
The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.
